Tue. March 22, 2011
The IAM is urging members and local leaders to contact their Representatives during this week’s Congressional recess to ask them to vote “YES” on an amendment to maintain fair National Mediation Board (NMB) union voting rules for aviation and railroad workers.
Hidden deep in the FAA Reauthorization bill (HR 658) is a provision that would overturn the NMB’s current rule which allows a majority of voting employees to choose whether they wish to vote for union representation, against union representation or not vote at all. If the rule is overturned the votes of those who do not vote, will be counted as “No” votes.
The process of voting under the Railway Labor Act was changed to ensure the voice of everyone who wishes to convey their viewpoint is heard and fairly counted.
“If we applied the old NMB voting threshold to those running for federal, state or local office, thousands of elected officials would never hold public office,” said IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger. “We reject returning to a process in which the government imposes a viewpoint on its citizens. And we strongly encourage Congress to support the current process where each person has the opportunity to choose for themselves if they want to vote ‘yes’ or vote ‘no’ for a union, and those who abstain from voting for whatever reason do not influence the outcome of the election.”
Debate on the FAA Reauthorization bill is expected to begin the week of March 28 th.
Please contact your Representative at their district offices via phone or in person. The message is simple: Please vote "Yes" to the Amendment to strike Section 903 NMB repeal rule from the FAA Reauthorization bill (HR 658). For more information on the bill, click here. Talking points are available here.
Click here to find your Representative’s district office address and contact information.
